


bad idea!

by deej_nicolson



Category: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Dorks in Love, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Glitches, Humor, Jealousy, Multi, Mutual Pining, Pining, Polyamory, Temporary Character Death, The Rare Male Tsundere(tm), Underage Drinking, Vaguely Defined Superpowers, Video Game Mechanics, and its gonna be AWKWARD, dont worry gang alex is cool here, lots and lots of glitches, theres gonna be an accidental kiss at one point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:42:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26318134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deej_nicolson/pseuds/deej_nicolson
Summary: In an unmoving and unchanging world, Skye longed for adventure. So when a mysterious stranger quite literally crash lands into her life, she immediately takes that chance. Although she has no idea what he and his friends mean by 'game', she's happy to help, and maybe even ready to find love in the process
Relationships: Anthony "Fridge" Johnson/Bethany Walker/Original Female Character(s), Anthony "Fridge" Johnson/Original Female Character(s), Bethany Walker/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	1. You Can See Me?

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! i hope u like this story! it was originally posted on wattpad on jan 12th 2020 and GOD has a lot of things changed since then. really the main reason i started writing this story was bc fridge and beth needed more love (with someone whos their age, sorry bethlex shippers :( ) and i wanted to mess around with the whole 'glitch' idea. so there! skye's fc is rowan blanchard, best known for riley in girl meets world. i hope u enjoy :D  
> (also a brief warning; these chapters are fairly short, about 1k to 2k words. skye shows up in the middle of the story so like... yeah oops :D. theres possibly only gonna be a few chapters)

xXx

Chapter One: You Can See Me?

xXx

Skye wasn't sure what time it was. Let alone what  _ day _ it was. But she knew she was getting hungry, and there was a local market that was perfect for a quick fix of food. Even in Jumanji, a rather large jungle environment with lots of berries, Skye was pretty sure at least half of them were poisonous.

She trailed foot tracks to the front of the bazaar, ducking under the bead curtain (although, she possibly wouldn't have needed to duck) and walking into the dark underground, bamboo pipes acting as a makeshift ceiling. She looked around the location - there was a local vendor selling 'rations', and she snatched one from the table. It disappeared as soon as she grabbed it, the vendor not noticing. She chuckled under her breath as she picked a bit off the ration, biting into it.

"Cake." She whispered, allowing the food to absorb into her mouth. "Lemon cake." She licked her lips and hummed slightly. "Pretty good, not substantial, but pretty good." She grinned and walked to one of the other stalls, pocketing an apple as she went.

One of the benefits of being practically invisible to most people was that Skye was very good at sneaking around. She will admit that what she was doing was stealing, but since her first few attempts to try to convince the vendors that yes, what they were seeing wasn't just a trick of the light was unsuccessful, she figured that she'd much rather steal than go on a fruitless effort.

She pulled out her messenger bag and found a small collection of crates to sit on, pulling out her sketchbook once she got comfortable and crossing her left leg over her right to act as a makeshift desk. As she began to sketch the machete that was hanging from the roof of a stall, trying to make sure that the shading was perfect and accurate, she suddenly noticed movement. The vendor she had stolen a cake from started shouting 'rations' loudly. The other vendors began to move around. It was like someone had pressed start on a video camera. Skye looked around in confusion. She hadn't seen this place so...  _ Lively _ ?

Sure it was colorful, but it now actually looked like people inhabited the place. Not like it was a silent ghost town with people who sat at stalls, staring into space, not moving, let alone speaking. But as far as Skye knew, she was the only person who actually knew how to talk of their own volition. That means that people were here!  _ Actual people _ , not these silent unthinking immovable ones!

She looked back down at the half finished machete drawing and sighed, patting it down before she shut the sketchbook.

"Maybe someone will finally see me." She muttered, somewhat bitter. Her invisibility had been a blessing and a curse - a blessing because of her ability to snatch rations and other items, but a curse because... well, when you're invisible, not many people notice you exist. That was obvious. It was what  _ The Invisible Man  _ was about, a book she pilfered from one of the sellers here!

Or at least... She  _ thought _ it was what the book was about. Much like the maps, the pages of books were reduced to useless scrap paper. Aside from her drawings, and she guessed its because she made them, most paper was blank. She mainly pilfered books for when she ran out of pages, and the doodles she made were better than any story she would've been able to read.

But enough of the angst, Skye noticed the much more lively market and smiled. She knew that she would still be a gust of wind that maybe blew up the skirts of passing ladies or knocked apples off the top of piles, but this time, there would be more people around. Maybe some people that would actually talk and interact. Maybe she could hear conversations, local gossip, all told in languages she didn't understand.

The bazaar was bustling. Until it calmed to a still once more. And then...

_**BOOM!** _

The sound of an explosion rattled Skye's ears as she jumped. She stood up and looked up, noticing a hole in the roof. The midday sun screeched through the bazaar, causing a spotlight to form. Skye walked slowly, standing on her tiptoes, careful not to hit rocks as she walked (she was barefoot, shoes were hard to come by in Jumanji aside from sturdy work boots that were twice her size).

As she crept around the corner, suddenly she heard a ding. The sound of air sweeping as the sky opened up, and crashing to the floor in front of her was a man. Mid 30s, early 40s, she assumed. Dark skin, stocky, short, if he was to stand Skye guessed he was about her height, maybe a  _ tiny _ bit taller. He wore the typical uniform of an adventurer - green shirt, green shorts, high raised socks, a red bandana around his neck and a heavy looking backpack on his back. On his head was a rather... Odd looking hat, but Skye assumed it was to protect from the sun.

Skye reached out her hand, thinking it wasn't useful and he would just ignore her... but - to her surprise - the man swatted her hand away. Skye almost gasped. Unless he was swatting the air... She stopped for a moment. The man blinked. She blinked back. Then, she waved, somewhat awkwardly. The man shuffled back in horror and stood up.

_ God, have I grown horns?  _ was Skye's first thought. She tapped her temples. Nope. No horns. But that would've been cool. She cocked her head at the man, who stared at her.

"Didn't your mommy tell you it's impolite to stare?" She asked, somewhat cheekily, noticing immediately that a group of people had come to check on him.

A tall man was first to arrive, with tan skin and built incredibly strongly. He also wore a similar outfit to the man that had fell in front of her, minus the neck scarf, backpack, knee high socks and hat. A woman followed them, long red hair and pale skin set her apart from the mostly beige and khaki colored group, as well as her red tank top and rolled up khaki shorts. A harness rested on her shoulders, covering her chest somewhat. The final member of the party arrived, hunched over. Male, she assumed (wow, three guys to one girl? interesting), with a similar base outfit to the other two men, but his arms were bare, and he was wearing a hat. He also had round glasses on, revealing... strangely young green eyes. Skye raised a brow at the rather odd menagerie of people.

The tall man grabbed the shorter one by the wrist and lifted him to his feet, much to the other's discomfort. "Like I said, it's important to be discrete." He smirked.

"Yeah! But you also said eat!" The shorter man said. Big guy looked a bit hurt by the smaller guys words, as she heard the man calling "rations!" once more.

"And you can shut your ass up." Little Guy snapped. Looking over at Skye, he gave her the once over. She blinked.

"You can see me?" She whispered, to which the guy cautiously nodded.

"Oh my god... You can see me?!" She repeated. "I've been so lonely! Can... Can these guys see me too? Or is it just you? Because if it's just you, um... hi! I'm Skye! It's nice to meet-"

Her rambling was cut off by a young kid (boy? girl? eh whatever, kid made sense) running towards the group. The kid phased right through her, causing Skye to raise a brow as they stopped, panting in front of the tall man.

"Dr Bravestone!" They cried, "Thank goodness you're here. Jumanji needs you!"

The tall man gave an awkward expression. "Um... Thanks? Good to be here." He replied, a bit hesitantly.

Skye raised a brow, looking over at man and giving hm the once over. "Bravestone?" She mouthed, a slight smirk on her face. " _ Doctor Bravestone _ ?" She then looked over at the guy who could see her first. "That's a stupid name." She stated, curtly, "What's his first name? Rock or something?"

The guy rolled his eyes. Skye chuckled in response. "I think I'm gonna like you, tiny."

However, during this brief moment of Skye attempting to get a conversation out of the man, she didn't notice the token girl in the group  _ (okay seriously? why only one girl?) _ lean down and whisper something to glasses guy. 

"Ask him where the missing piece is!" She heard. 

"Oh, right!"

Glasses guy cleared his throat and stepped forward. Skye raised a brow, it was then that she realized that glasses guy's voice sounded  _ incredibly _ effeminate. Weird. And come to think of it, the way that the two 'stronger' members of the group - redhead and tall guy - carried themselves was more awkward than people of their physical appearance and supposed strength. While the others - glasses guy and tiny - appeared  _ way  _ too confident, betraying the appearance that their bodies let off. It wasn't just the voices sounding off,  _ everything _ was off. And one single thing finally clinched it for Skye.

"Hi! Um... I'm Bethany-I mean... Doctor Shelly, something. I'm a map doctor and, I have this map that has like, a missing piece and-"

Skye's eyes widened. "Well... This just got weird." She said to herself, " _ Map doctor?  _ I don't think that's even a real profession! If it is that would be weird profession to have, like what would you do, perform check ups on maps?" She then paused, "Wait, come to think of that that's an amazing idea, I should write that down or-"

Tiny - as Skye was now calling him - planted his hand over her mouth, muffling her voice. The kid barely payed glasses guy - Bethany? Doctor Shelly Whatever? Glasses guy fit better for now - any attention. Instead, he turned back to the tall man - Bravestone, Skye assumed - and did what most people in this world did. Repeated things. 

"Dr Bravestone! Thank goodness you're here! Jumanji needs you!"

Glasses guy huffed. "Rude." He stated, bluntly. Skye completely understood how that felt. But she guessed that she was more used to it than these people were. Speaking of that; where did they come from? What were they doing here? And how come one of them could see her?

That seemed like a question for another time, as Bravestone looked at the boy and stated, "We're looking for the missing piece."

The boy nodded and began to walk ahead, as the rest of the group followed. 

Skye paused, should she? Well, yeah, it seemed like some excitement in her relatively dull, mundane existence in this strange world. Having a group of people to follow seemed like fun! So she trailed behind them, waiting for her chance to speak up.


	2. Never Blink

xXx

Chapter Two: Never Blink

xXx

Maybe it was a bad decision to follow the group of weirdos who were following a sentence repeating child through the marketplace that while Skye knew how to navigate, she was pretty sure that none of the people that she followed  _ did _ . It seemed like the child was walking on a set path, and the rest of the group was following, order as such - Bravestone lead the group, followed by Redhead, and Glasses Guy and Tiny held up the rear. 

Skye was right behind Glasses Guy and Tiny, almost breathing on them. Okay, not in a  _ weird _ way but like she was close enough that if Glasses Guy couldn't see her, he (she? Bethany's commonly a girl's name, Skye was pretty sure) would believe that she was just an annoying gust of wind. But, that didn't seem to be the case.

Tiny sighed. "Why are we letting her follow us?"

"Who?" Glasses Guy asked, as Tiny gestured to her. Glasses Guy saw her, eyes wide. "Oh! Her! Right... Maybe she's important or something? Like, I dunno, she seems to be pretty..." He paused suddenly, as if thinking the sentence over, before he came up with a different sentence to finish on. "Attracted to you." Glasses Guy smirked at Tiny, as Tiny rolled his eyes.

"What? No! What made you think that!"

"Well, she's looking at you right now as if you're like, the best thing she's ever seen," Glasses Guy listed off, "And she's following  _ us  _ but she could've ran ahead and caught up to Spencer or Martha."

Okay, so as far as Skye knew, Spencer was Bravestone... Dr  _ Spencer _ Bravestone... That may have been dumber then the name idea that she originally came up with. And as far as she knew, Martha was Redhead... Weird names for a group of adventurers but she'd deal with it. 

"Face it, Fridge, I think you found a girlfriend~" Glasses Guy giggled in a sing-songy voice, much to Tiny's ( _Fridge?_ Okay, maybe that was _worse_ than Bravestone) displeasure. He folded his arms across his chest, as Skye chuckled quietly.

"How do you know she's not into  _ you _ ?" He smirked back, as Glasses Guy blushed slightly. "Could've run ahead at any point, but she's staying here."

"Well, I mean, she's looking more at you than me so..."

And the conversation ended, rather suddenly, Skye would add, when they stopped in front of an odd, circular building. Skye had walked past this building several times around the Bazaar, but it always seemed shut off, surrounded by people or guards. Now? It was very open. The child at the front of the group stopped, turning around, now a grim expression crossing his face. 

"What you need is in the basket," He stated, "One false move, you're in a casket. Trust one another, and never blink. The missing piece is not what you think."

Cheerful.

His sudden mood alters once more from grim back to placidly enthusiastic. "Good luck, mighty hero! Jumanji-"

"We know." Tiny interrupts, a tight smile on his face. "Jumanji needs him. You said it  _ several _ times." 

Ignoring his comment, the child turns back around and vanishes into the distance. Skye already knows where he's going - he's going to pace in front of the Bazaar stalls, back and forth and back and forth and back and forth... Yeah she made the right decision staying with these guys. Having to see  _ that _ again and again and again? It was going to drive her  _ insane _ ! 

Now looking closer at the hut, Skye noticed that it didn't really have a door (much like most buildings in the bazaar), just a bead curtain that was easy to walk through. As the group did, Skye phased through the curtain almost instinctively and noticed the inside - it was dusty, almost like it was built into the ground by an ancient civilization. The windows were wide open, allowing small patches of sunlight to fall through and hit the floor in various shadowed shapes, outlining the group on the floor. However, she was curiously missing from the shadows. 

Most people would've screamed, or said something, but Skye didn't notice. Aside from two people, no one could see her, and she... was used to that at this point. But it didn't even matter. What did matter is that Skye felt a rumbling from a wicker box in the centre of the room. And then she heard a hissing.

"Th-There's a snake in that box." She whispered, suddenly, before looking over the box. Awkward silence continued as the group looked at the box. Tiny - Fridge, Skye, start calling them by their actual names - scoffed.

"Well, I think this is a Bravestone thing." He said, much to the actual Bravestone - Spencer's - shock.

"Why would it be a Bravestone thing?!" He cried, looking around at the rest of the group as shrugged.

"You heard what he said," Fridge said, "You're the mighty hero. Now get." He pushed Spencer towards the box, as he stumbled, hesitantly. Silence. A strange drumbeat began to kick in, as if drumming was going on outside. But it was more like it was  _ inside  _ the hut. The group looked around in a panic, and Skye joined in, mostly out of confusion. Where was it coming from?

Understandibly, Spencer turned around away from the box.

"I don't wanna do this!" He shouted, causing Fridge to roll his eyes.

"Just go."

Hesitantly, Spencer walked back to the box, and removed its lid. Nothing. Maybe Skye had been hearing things earlier with the snake. 

"It's empty." Spencer said, before suddenly it was clear he spoke too soon. A snake flew out of the box suddenly, hissing, jaw wide, fangs bared.

With a sudden cry of "BLACK MAMBA!" From Fridge, Skye ducked, even though she was sure that if humans couldn't see her, neither could snakes. But she had heard stories of animals being more susceptible to ghost sightings.. Uh oh. Before she could really panic, Spencer slammed the lid down on the creature, panting heavily as he held the lid down with his impressive strength. 

Skye rose to her full height, looking around the room in shock. The sudden pouncing of the snake caused her body to flicker in and out of view, green flashes appearing from her arms, legs and chest. She finally pulled herself back into the room, hoping that no one saw it.

"The black mamba," Fridge panted, "A quarter milligram of its venom is enough to kill an adult."

"Helpful." Skye stated under her breath, noticing him shake his head in disbelief.

"HOW DO I KNOW THIS?!" He shouted, causing Skye to chuckle. He glared at her in response, and Skye mimicked the glare, a wicked grin on her face. Much to his displeasure. 

"Okay," Spencer took a deep breath in, before reciting the statement said before, "Trust one another and never blink."

"Not blinking is physically impossible," Skye began, but in a slightly hushed tone, "So like... If you want to maybe kill your eyes before the snake kills you that would be a great idea!" She then turned to Fridge, "Not to be rude or anything but-"

Fridge huffed and turned away, as Skye frowned. "Come on, I'm just trying to start conversation!"

"Well, what does that have to do with a snake?" Redhead - Martha - asked. And that's when Skye noticed a certain someone in the group had an idea. 

"You guys!" Glasses - Bethany - spoke up suddenly, "I think it's a staring contest!"

Skye raised a brow. "What?" She mouthed. 

"Think about it! Never blink!"

Well, the logic made  _ some  _ sense but still seemed pretty... weird? Like, a dangerous wild animal is in there and your first response is  _ 'staring contest' _ ? But then again, nothing here made sense. It was almost like whatever was controlling the area that Skye had known so well was treating it like some sort of game... And at least one of her new 'friends' seemed to be playing along.

"Guys, I think she's right." Spencer spoke up, as the basket continued to shake and rattle.

Yep, they're gonna die. 

Skye sighed, "Great," She thought, "I just lost the first two people who could actually see me, possibly also two more, when am I ever gonna get that again?" 

"Okay, who's good at staring and not blinking?" Spencer asked, a bit panicked, looking down at the rattling basket. There was a long pause, as Skye looked around the group, noticing Bethany was biting his - her? - lip.

"I'm amazing at it." She grimaced, looking directly at the basket. Spencer nodded and set the basket down in front of her, as Skye watched from the distance, suddenly fading out of view.

"Come on Beth, this is your moment." Martha whispered, as Skye faded back into view suddenly. It was like someone opened the door, and a draft fell through the building. Back to fading out, and fading in. Yep, Skye was panicking. As this happened, she noticed Bethany kneeling down, staring at the basket. 

Spencer held the basket again, holding the sides tightly. "Just tell me when." He said, his voice full with concern.

"Okay - now."

And the second she said that, the box lid was wide open. The snake rose from the box, hissing loudly, fangs bared. Bethany didn't move. They held gazes for what felt like an eternity, before suddenly... It lunged towards Skye suddenly, breaking the staring contest. Bethany screamed.

Skye flinched, before she noticed it pounce upwards, about to target Martha, when Spencer grabbed it by the tail. It was still hissing and wiggling uncomfortably, snapping its jaw in rapid succession. Spencer was trying his hardest to keep the creature at bay... And it practically leapt out of his hand, throwing itself towards Skye.

Skye finally let herself known to the rest of the group, letting out a horrified shriek that startled Spencer and Martha. Then, as quickly as the snake lunged at her, it stopped, as if frozen in place. Spencer used this moment to grab it once more, still by the tail. It was wiggling, hissing, snapping its jaw repeatedly as if trying to grab its newfound prey - Skye. 

"What do I do now?" He shouted, holding the tail as tightly as he could.

Suddenly, Fridge's eyes brightened. "We gotta defang it." He announced.

"I gotta what?"

In the confusion, Skye almost felt like she was fading once more, and looked directly at Fridge, her eyes wide. He marched towards the snake, still sitting in Spencer's hand, as he grabbed the snakes head.

"You gotta pull his mouth back from the blind spot to disorient it." He explained, "But be very careful of the venom gland, and the exposed secondary venom duct."

"I should write this down." Skye chuckled, although she was still in a blind panic, which Fridge noticed. He looked at her with kind eyes and a weak smile, as if to say "I know what I'm doing". 

"And then you gotta snap it's teeth..." The first tooth snapped off, much to the panic and disgust of everyone around him. "Out of its head."

The second tooth was also snapped off, as the snake fell to the floor, defenceless. The group breathed a collective sigh of relief, Skye included, as Bethany deadpanned about how it wasn't a staring contest like she thought. Skye herself was more focused on Fridge, who was more confused if anything about how exactly it happened.

"Thank you." She said, her voice wavering between fear and relief. And that's when the remaining two 'strangers' noticed her. Spencer took a shocked step back, and Martha looked her up and down, as if she was trying to figure out how she got there. Bethany sighed, running a hand down her shirt.

"Um... I guess we gotta explain that at some point?" She smiled, looking at Fridge. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sidenote; as i was writing a later chapter, the movie suddenly appeared on australian netflix! so i had to rewrite the defanging the snake scene.  
> also sidenote of the sidenote; i swear to GOD that i dont have a crush on kevin hart. thats disgusting. the reason for skye's attraction to fridge and bethany is bc theyre new and exciting, and much later due to plot conveniences, she gets to see them as themselves and it clicks lmao


	3. A Great-Ish Plan

xXx

Chapter 3: A Great-Ish Plan

xXx

"That was so amazing, Fridge!"

"I... I defanged a snake."

"I know! That was so cool! Like... Could you always do this or is that like a new thing? Because like I saw you were a bit confused with all the animal facts you were saying and it seems really weird because if you could do that all the time you wouldn't be confused by it? Like I don't know, I mean I only  _ just _ met you and-"

Suddenly, Skye noticed that everyone else in the group was looking at her.

"Hi?" She awkwardly asked, to no response.

Maybe the horn theory was more true than she expected. She felt her temple and... Yep, still no horns. She blinked at the group, and they blinked back. And then... Spencer approached her. He was somewhat cautious with his movements, as if he was dealing with something  _ more _ dangerous than the black mamba that had attacked them earlier.

Skye stumbled back. "Woah, woah, woah,  _ woah _ -" She quickly said, grabbing a garter beneath her dress and pulling out an iridescent pocket knife, the tip of its handle decorated by a butterfly's wing. She pointed it in his general direction, breath harsh, eyes wide. This caused him to step back, hands raised in a panic.

She lowered the knife a bit, keeping the point at Spencer. While Skye was doing this, she failed to notice that she was glitching in and out of the environment.

"Y-You can see me, right?" She asked. Spencer nodded. She then pointed the knife at Martha.

"You can too, yeah?"

Another nod.

"And so can she, and so can he..." Skye muttered, using the knife as a pointer to gesture towards Fridge and Bethany. She sighed. "Look, do you wanna know how  _ long  _ I've spent, wandering this area with no real human interaction?"

"How long-"

"I wouldn't be able to tell you!" Skye stated, bluntly, "And like, I mean, it would be  _ nice  _ to have someone to talk to and if that's you guys then thats fine but like... Why did you do that?" She was specifically gesturing to Spencer now with the knife, "Is there something wrong with me?"

Spencer raised a brow. "Well... Um... It's a long story-"

"Try me!" Skye cried out, "If it's an explanation as to why people walk back and forth through the bazaar not speaking and when they do they repeat sentences multiple times, or why I'm invisible, or who the hell you people are I'm willing to listen to a long story!"

"Why are you pointing that thing?"

Skye paused, looking at the knife, "Oh? This thing? Well, if you could treat a literal poisonous snake like a  _ staring contest _ , then I'm allowed to treat a knife as a pointer-"

"Guys!" Bethany winced, looking over at Skye with a weak smile on her face. "Okay, let's just see what's in the box and then we can explain to her what's going on, alright?"

Spencer conceded, as Skye pouted, moving the knife back to her garter. She followed behind Bethany, looking over her shoulder as she looked inside the now snake-less basket. She pulled out a piece of blank parchment, Skye's eyes widened.

"Parchment?" She asked, looking over Bethany's shoulder as she turned it over. "Blank." She said, somewhat disappointed. "Of course it's blank-"

Suddenly, as if the words were written in invisible ink, they began to form on the page.

"If you see me, begin the climb." Bethany began to read, before revealing the fact hat the parchment was concealing an elephant token. Skye's eyes went wide.

"Oh... Oh my God..." She looked at the group, in shock, "Oh my God!  _ Words _ ! I know this is a dumb thing to get excited about and I mean, we are in a bit of a pickle but... Like... Words just don't... Appear! Or at least, I think they don't! And that elephant token thing! I've never seen that before!" She took a deep breath in, still somewhat in shock from the sudden arrival of the newcomers, followed by the attack from the snake. "Sorry, I ramble when I get excited. Or nervous. Or upset. Or really when I feel any emotion, anyway, it's just what I do-"

"Begin the climb?" Martha interrupted, "When you see an elephant?"

The group all looked confused, as they began to draw out of the building, followed by Skye who stumbled behind, somewhat awkwardly attempting to keep up with the strange group of people. 

"Maybe it's the next level of the game?" She heard Bethany say, and she shook her head. The game? What does that even mean? And why weren't they explaining this to her?

But before Skye could open her mouth and say something, she felt a rumbling under her feet. Motorcycles pulled up around various stalls, men dressed in dusty brown clothing holding knives and guns and other weapons placed their weapons to the shopkeepers around them. Others just stood there, menacingly. Skye looked around, even more confused than she was before. But also... Somewhat excited? Most of the time she'd spent her days watching the people in the bazaar moving in almost a pattern, but now things were different. She had to thank the group later... You know, when they  _ weren't _ in severe danger.

That's when she noticed that one of the men slammed someone against a wall, looking directly at the group with sinister intentions. Skye swallowed, before she looked behind her to see that Spencer had ran ahead, as the various men walked towards them. Skye slipped underneath one of their legs and bolted in the same direction that Spencer did, suddenly noticing that the other members of the group followed suit.

She passed baskets, grabbing her bag tightly to keep it secure on her shoulder and watching the other group members jump over the baskets - Martha and Spencer did it with ease, but Bethany and Fridge were a little bit behind. Not a lot to be noticeable to the naked eye, but enough to feel like something was off. Skye for her part, grabbed onto the edge of the cloth tarpaulin and seemed to vanish into thin air... And reappear above, looking down. Her breath heavy.

She didn't want to leave them behind though, and she began running along the tops of the stalls, looking ahead towards the end of the bazaar as she continued to hear the other members of the group catch up to her.

"Wait! Where'd the chick go?" She heard Fridge cry out, before she saw that Bethany was looking in her general direction, letting out a breathless laugh as Skye looked over. She gave Bethany a slight wink, before suddenly losing her balance and falling from the second to last tarpaulin and skidding to a halt on the floor, elbows crashing into the ground. 

She groaned as she rose to her feet, now looking back at where she'd ended up. Bethany and Fridge had since vanished into the background, and she was more focused on the muscular man who'd stopped Spencer. The weird thing that Spencer would've noticed, if it weren't for the man halting him in his tracks being more important, was that the grazes that would've been on Skye's elbows and knees from the fall had suddenly vanished into nothing. 

"I have to warn you... I think I'm a very strong puncher." Spencer stated, causing Skye to raise a confused brow. First the zoology facts from Fridge that he had no idea why he knew, now the fact that Spencer only  _ assumed _ someone of his stature was a strong puncher? Everything had been turned upside down and she almost wanted to run up to him, but stopped when he was punched by the other man, and didn't even flinch. 

Another punch, and not a flinch was seen. Then another. 

"Parry, parry, evade, block-" Spencer paused, his hand against the attacker's wrist. He gave him a knowing look. "Uppercut." And then the man was thrown through the ceiling. Skye let out a shocked chuckle as she ran ahead now, now behind the stalls instead of in front of them.

The rest of the group had since caught up, and as Skye skidded around a corner, sliding against the floor by her bag and hitting the group with the edge of her bare feet. As she stood up, she noticed a figure throwing knives at them, one of which Spencer caught with ease above Fridge's eye level. That's when she also noticed that there were knives in the wall against them - this guy obviously didn't have that good of an aim. Or knowing how good Spencer was at evading weaponry and punches, he probably dodged them with ease. She ran behind the group and grabbed a few of the knives from the wall, sticking them in her bag alongside the equally sharp set of pencils. But before she could comment on what she did, she didn't realize she was stepping backwards and phased through--

A tall, older gentlemen, with rugged looks and dark hair. His eyes were a bright green, almost the color of the lush greenery of the jungle itself, but closer to an almost radioactive color. He wore clothing similar to the men that surrounded him, they obviously worked for each other. 

"Hello doctor," He greeted, "It's been a long time." He was looking specifically at Spencer, who looked even more fearful than before.

"We just wanna go home." He whimpered, and that's when Skye suddenly saw something strange. It was like the scenery altered around them, and she saw four complete strangers in the place of already existing complete strangers. They stood in the positions of the other four, and that's when Skye realized something.

They were kids. Just like her. Oh shit.


	4. A New Ally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey just a brief warning for people expecting this; there will be NO alex bashing. i love the boy okay, i just dont ship him with bethany and imagine that skye is a LITTLE jealous of him as he is seemingly beth's type.   
> ALSO this is my longest chapter so far, being about 2k words :'D mainly bc i had to describe an action sequence and panicked. i think i did a good job! i think!

xXx

Chapter Four: A New Ally?

xXx

So, her saviours were kids. Literal kids. Just like her. Kids that had been put in a life or death situation and adult bodies and also  _ why the hell were Bethany and Fridge both so dang cute? _

The bodies that they had been put in didn't do them any justice - pretty blonde and muscular jock against well... The two people who were the first to see her in the entire situation. Not that Spencer or Martha weren't cute either but they were cute in a different way and - Dammit, Skye, this is a dangerous situation stop ogling random strangers! 

She almost wanted to internally repeat "life or death situation" but it was almost like the fact that she was now standing behind a large, terrifying mercenary and looking at the only four people who could actually save her was lost on her. The image glitched out and returned to normal, almost as punishment for her ogling, but before Skye could comment, she suddenly felt herself being nudged by another man, and a smokebomb exploding. Before she even had time to react, she heard a man's voice shout "Come on!".

She immediately ran out of the smoke and through the crowd, watching as the rest of the group caught up to her and the stranger as she heard a cry of "Get him!" from the 'bad guy'. The smoke was partially clearing as she felt her eyes sting and the floor seem to bubble beneath her. Around a corner, and around another corner, around another corner, racing through the crowd and the smoke as it billowed to the sky. 

Skye felt herself turn almost on a hairpin and stumble slightly as she saw the group - lead by a man in a mask - disperse into an alleyway. She followed them, but quickly realized that she had actually rushed  _ ahead _ of them, now standing just beside Martha as she watched the man unhook a grate and lead the group into a dark underground area that Skye didn't think existed until that day. 

"Down here." He said, "Come on, quick!" As the group entered the grate one by one, disappearing into the darkness, the man looked over at Skye. 

"That means you as well." 

This caused Skye to freeze up and blink. She sheepishly pointed to herself as the man pointed over the grate, leading her to dash towards the hole and climb down the ladder herself, as she was followed by the man. Now away from any followers, the man removed his mask as they entered the darkness. Any questions the group could ask were stopped by the sound of shouting from above ground. Skye gripped her bag tightly, as the man put his finger over his mouth with a 'shh'. 

The man himself was very distinct, but also generic in a weird way. His pale skin and black hair was normal, and the clothes he wore could've easily been confused for a random henchman of the 'bad guy'. 

The clamour from above stopped, as the man turned to light a torch that was placed on the wall. 

"I need you to follow me and do exactly as I say." He said, before he began to lead the group through a tunnel. "Let's move!"

As the group vanished into the tunnel, lead by the light of the torch, the man began to speak. Skye picked up that he was rather young, possibly a few years older than her and the rest of the gangs 'real' bodies, but she couldn't quite place anything else about him.

"Oh my God, you guys," He began, "I'm so stoked you're here." He seemed to be breathless, relieved, Skye quickly picked up from the way he was speaking that he possibly was in the same situation as her newfound friends. "You have no idea."

"You are?" Bethany asked from the back.

"So stoked. I mean, I saw you guys at the bazaar." He continued, causing Skye to raise a brow. Suddenly the images of a black haired man giving her weird looks as she went through her daily routine made way  _ too _ much sense. "And I thought to myself, 'no way'! And then I was like, yeah, that's totally-" Suddenly his story stopped, "Backs against the wall!" He called, as the group, including Skye performed the action.

A popping noise rang through the air as blowgun darts exited out of a wall behind the group. Skye's eyes widened as she saw it clatter into a skeleton at the end of the corridor, its jaw falling off due to frequent blows. Note to self, remember what a skeleton without its jaw looks like for future art reference. Fridge's cry of "oh my goodness!" didn't stop Skye from going "cool" under her breath. After a brief second of stunned staring, the man took a breath in.

"Let's keep moving."

They entered another room. "Watch your step in here!" The man called out.

"Um, who are you?" Martha asked, finally asking the question on everyone's lips as the man continued to walk through the area.

"Yeah, and who do you think  _ we  _ are?"

"Right," The man followed, "Sorry, okay, my bad... Let me back up a little bit here."

Well, no one was actually explaining to Skye what was going on here, but at this point she had stopped trying to find an answer. Maybe she could pick up context clues from what everyone else was saying? But that was when Spencer butted in;

"Wait are you the pilot? Seaplane somebody?"

"Yes!" The guy - Seaplane, although Skye was pretty sure that wasn't his real name - exclaimed "Yeah, that's me!"

"You're the other character that was taken!" Fridge stated, "So you're in the game too?"

"Wait, you  _ know _ him?" Skye finally asked, trying to speak up over the group. But before she could get an answer she felt rumbling under her toes. Everyone stopped in their tracks. Another trap?

"Stay off the white blocks." Seaplane ordered.

"What?"

"And freeze."

The group did as they were told, before large, and  _ incredibly _ sharp blades slid from the walls. They passed in front of the group, and through Skye due to the fact that she didn't quite stop in the right position - one foot was on the white block - but the only thing that happened was the blade seemed to vanish, disappearing through the wall like it was never there. Skye chuckled breathlessly, and the remaining blades disappeared. 

A sigh from Seaplane at the front of the group. "So gnarly." He muttered. Skye had no idea what gnarly meant but she was pretty sure it was something good, and those blades  _ did _ look cool, even if they were incredibly dangerous and could hurt someone.

"This game sucks." Fridge whispered, as the remaining group followed Seaplane, Skye attempting to keep up.  _ So it's a game? _ Fridge also used the term 'character' to describe Seaplane earlier. 

The fact that even though they'd only just met the group seemed to know of his existence was also weird as well. Maybe she should wait until they aren't in lethal danger to ask questions but it was too hard  _ not _ to, especially now that there were so many running through her head! 

They turned a corner, before Seaplane stopped the group with a single arm. He dangled his hand, still holding the torch, over the large gap between the door and the other side. That's when Skye heard sounds of gnashing teeth from 'below deck' -- crocodiles. 

"Alright..." Seaplane muttered, somewhat nonchalantly, "Get this plank-" He heaved a large wooden plank over the gap between the door they just exited and the one that was on the other side. He then began to walk across.

"Follow me." Once he got to the end, he gestured to the remaining group, "Careful. It's a horrible way to die."

Skye's eyes widened. "I'm sorry... What do you mean-"

But before she could finish her sentence, Martha had quickly started to bound across the plank. Once she reached the end, Seaplane lead her into the tunnel behind him with a "there you go, alright." 

Next up was Fridge, who walked across shakily as the crocodiles jumped up out of the water. He seemed to be a bit unbalanced, and paused slightly in the middle. Seaplane gave him a friendly expression and gestured to the door.

"Come on." 

"I got it, I got it," Fridge deadpanned as he continued to walk across the plank, "I just defanged a snake, give me a little respect."

Skye rolled her eyes. While defanging a snake was impressive, she wasn't sure if he'd done anything since then. He had being carrying around that backpack, but she had no idea what was in there. Maybe it was like her messenger bag where it could actually hold a lot more than it appeared, but even then she wasn't sure what was going to show up or when it was going to be necessary. 

Next was Spencer's turn and after a bit of hesitation, he managed to walk across the plank with not much trouble. Again, not surprising - the 'character' he seemed to inhabit had the invincibility to do it without ease. It seemed almost like a parody of something, but Skye wasn't sure what of. Again, a question to ask once they got away from danger for the time being. 

Skye gulped, stepping in front of Bethany and following the path of the plank. She heard the gnashing of teeth from below and shakily continued walking across, now speeding up. She was on her toes, feeling splinters poke upwards as she leapt from the edge onto the other side, rather gracefully. 

Seaplane smiled and patted her on the shoulder, giving her a look that read "good job". Skye froze for a moment, she swore she could see another person in his eyes -- someone maybe slightly older, more mature. She frowned for a bit, before following the group into the tunnel. That was when she heard a snap, Bethany shriek and suddenly her eyes widened. She ran back into the room --

Only to see that Bethany was leaning against Seaplane, a smile on both of their faces.

"Hi there." Bethany whispered.

"Hi." Seaplane said back.

Skye felt her face warm with something she's never felt before. Even though she'd barely known these people, there was something in her stomach that felt hard and heavy. When Bethany walked past, she lead the other person through the tunnel, waiting for Seaplane to return. He did, very quickly. 

He ran through the group, parting them as he opened a metal door - "C'mon!" He called - leading them into another stone room. He then pushed the stone wall open, revealing it was a door, that showed the group the sort of lush greenery that they had become used to. It was almost like they'd been transported from the bazaar to another location. Skye looked around in surprise, feeling the air on her skin and hearing the sounds of birdsong in the distance. Seaplane had since locked the door and turned to face the group, a wide smile on his face.

"Anyway," He greeted, "I'm Alex." 

Spencer was the one to greet the group. "Spencer Gilpin," He started with himself, gesturing towards the rest of the group, "Martha, Fridge and Bethany."

In response to this Alex, gave a surprised expression. "Bethany?" He asked, "You're a girl?"

"Woman." Bethany clarified, giving him a cheeky smirk. Skye frowned, folding her arms in response. After a few minutes of understandibly awkward silence, Fridge spoke up;

"In real life you'd probably wanna hit that."

Bethany slapped him on the chest for his comment, causing Skye to giggle slightly, her head down. She looked up at Alex, who was giving her a confused stare.

"And uh?"

"Skye." Skye greeted with a wave, "It's nice to finally meet you all. But uh... Would now be a bad time to ask what's going on? Maybe later, when we aren't running for our lives from some megalomaniac crazy person?"

The rest of the group gave each other concerned looks, as Alex frowned. 

"Yeah, this might take a while. Drinks?"


End file.
